Forum Discussion

maillemaker's avatar
maillemaker
Explorer
Jan 08, 2018

Generator hour meter has stopped working.

My generator hour meter no longer works.

Is it 12VDC or 120VAC?

I have a 1990 Winnebago Warrior and the generator is an Onan 4BGEFA26101A.

Steve
  • Thanks Doug. I will order a new hour meter and get it installed.

    Vibrations of a generator. I counted on having arguments with diesel genset customers who wished to contain all of the accessories on board a generator frame.


    My hour meter is installed on the stove hood in the cabin, not on the generator.

    Steve
  • Few intricate electro mechanical gizmos can survive a few billion yadda-ka-yadda-ka-yadda...

    Vibrations of a generator. I counted on having arguments with diesel genset customers who wished to contain all of the accessories on board a generator frame.

    I refused to allow it. The argument was preferable to future service calls and furrowed eyebrows.

    A fully electronic hour meter would be better but it would have to be of decent quality (provenance) to insure long life.

    I like dual function hour meters. One scale for total aggregate hours, the second is re-settable for service due purposes.

    AC or DC? How many hours does your generator operate without making electrical power?
  • At least on my Onan generator panel, the timer is powered by the same wire that powers the indicator light that shows the generator is running. I think it's a DC signal, I don't remember offhand if 12V or 24V. The timer module probably is labeled with the voltage requirements.
  • I think it is broken - for a while it would tick and the numbers would wiggle but nothing happens.

    I just want to know if I need a 12VDC one or a 120VAC one.

    I could just pull it first but it's embedded in the stove hood and I'm not sure how much of a hassle it will be to disassemble to get to it.

    Steve
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    The most common "Generator hour meter" is. in fact, a spring wound clock.. Like the dash clocks of the 1950's and 1960's it has a magnetic solenoid that "Winds" the clock (the spring is only good for a couple of minutes)_ when the spring is wound the switch that operates the magnet is opened. and as the clock winds down the switch closes, there is a soft "Click" lasting less than one clock tick and the spring is re-wound.. This is why the clock continus to run or a bit after you shut down the Genny.

    Suspects if it does not work
    Broken wire, no power to the wire
    Dirty switch contacts
    Bad magnet wireing
    Clockwork issues (See a horologist for this one.. Folks Horus is the God of Time so a Horologist is one who studies time or time pieces, or fixes time pieces.)